Crumpled and blackened shells are all that remain of the cars involved in this dual carriageway pile-up.

But amazingly the five drivers and passengers caught up in yesterday’s A19 horror smash all escaped serious injury.

An eight-year-old girl had to be airlifted to hospital following the crash, in South Tyneside, which involved three cars, at midday.

The youngster had been a passenger in a Skoda Yeti, which was involved in a collision with an Audi A3 and a VW Golf, on the northbound carriageway of the A19, near to the junction with A1290.

Fire crews had to cut the youngster free from the car, which was being driven by her father who managed to scramble free from the wreckage himself.

She was unconscious when she was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), with her father by her side.

The journey took just seven minutes.

But her injuries are not thought to be serious. A third person in the car was also taken to hospital.

Firefighters then cut the driver of the Audi free so he could be taken to South Tyneside District Hospital to be treated for suspected spinal injuries.

And the driver of the Golf was taken to hospital suffering from a broken collar bone.

Two small dogs also escaped from one of the cars but they are now missing.

The aftermath of the smash was witnessed by retired engineer James King, of South Shields.

The 74-year-old said: “I noticed a man and a woman and two children sitting at the road side, and I think one of the cars must have caught on fire as there was a huge blackened patch on the road.

“I don’t know how the crash happened, but it looked quite serious.”

In total there were 16 firefighter from three stations at the scene, along with police, paramedics, and the Great North Air Ambulance Service helicopter.

Police are now asking for anyone with any information about the whereabouts of the dogs to get in touch.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: “At 12pm on Monday police were informed of a collision northbound on the A19, near to the junction with the A1290 at Boldon, involving three vehicles.

“Five people were taken to hospital. Three people, a man, a woman and an eight-year-old girl were taken to the Newcastle’s RVI and two men were taken to South Tyneside District Hospital.

“The eight-year-old girl was airlifted to hospital as a precaution. Her injuries are not believed to be serious.

“The road was closed for around two hours to allow for the casualties to be treated and taken to hospital and for the vehicles to be recovered. The southbound carriageway was closed for around 30 minutes to allow the air ambulance to land near the scene.

“Two small dogs, believed to be terriers, escaped from one of the vehicles during the collision and have not yet been found.”

A Great North Air Ambulance spokesman said: “The Great North Air Ambulance was called to a three-car road traffic collision on the A19 at Boldon. The injured patients were treated at the scene by the land paramedics and the doctor paramedic crew from the GNAAS, One patient was airlifted to the RVI Newcastle in a stable condition. Police and firefighters were also in attendance at the scene.”